Egads!
by otke
Summary: Hermione and Ginny run into Draco and Blaise in Diagon Alley. While Ginny and Blaise bond laughing at Draco, he and Hermione come to an understanding. EWE


**Dramionelove Mini Fest 2016. Prompt: _"Antiquated muggle sayings, humor, Post-Hogwarts; Squicks: main character death, occult elements"_**

 **Thanks beta rzzmg!**

 **"Harry Potter" is the property of J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. This work of fiction/art was created entirely for fun, not for profit, and no copyright infringement is intended.**

"EGADS!"

Hermione turned around and thought, _"_ _What? Egads?! Who says such a thing anymore?"_ Unfortunately, she couldn't tell who said it because Diagon Alley was packed to the gills.

Shrugging it off, she and Ginny continued to walk past the stores filled with weekend shoppers. They entered the Leaky Cauldron and sat down for lunch.

Hermione heard the cry again.

"EGADS!"

"What in the world?" she remarked.

Ginny looked at her curiously. "What?"

"That's twice today I've heard someone say 'Egads!'. It's a really old Muggle slang term. How odd to hear it here of all places."

"I've never heard that word," Ginny replied.

"There's a reason for that."

"HORSEFEATHERS!"

At this, Hermione stood up, scanning the room. Who was saying such ridiculous things?

Her eyes narrowed as she saw Draco Malfoy sitting at a table across the room, making an exasperated gesture while talking to his best mate, Blaise Zabini. When she heard him proclaim "Horsefeathers" again, she knew she'd found the culprit.

She walked over to where he was sitting with Blaise Zabini. Ginny followed her, clearly curious as well.

"Do you even know the meaning of 'horsefeathers', Malfoy?" Hermione asked.

"Of course I do, Granger!"

Off to the side, Blaise was shaking his head. Obviously, he didn't believe Draco knew what he was saying, either.

"Stop it, Blaise," Malfoy said without having to turn to look at his friend.

Blaise held his hands up in surrender. "I've not a clue what it means."

"Me, either," added Ginny.

"Well then, Malfoy, as you seem to be the only one that knows, why don't you enlighten the rest of us as to what 'horsefeathers' means?" Hermione slyly suggested, while trying not to laugh.

Draco rose to the challenge. "It's like saying, 'Nonsense!'"

"In 1920, perhaps. But it's 2004. No one says that anymore. Also, it's Muggle slang."

Ginny and Blaise started laughing.

"From the 1920s? And it's Muggle? Really?" Blaise was laughing so hard he started crying.

"Shut up, Zabini," growled Draco, crossing his arms and looking put out.

Holding on to her sides from so much laughter, Ginny settled into the seat beside Blaise. The two had matching streams of tears running down their faces due to the hilarity.

Draco tried to change the subject with Hermione. "What are you doing here anyway, Granger?"

Hermione stood awkwardly, not wanting to be where she wasn't wanted. She explained that she and Ginny were having lunch after a bit of shopping.

Malfoy just grunted.

With Ginny and Blaise still saying, "Horsefeathers!" and, "Egads!" to each other, the waitress came over and asked if Hermione and Ginny would like to move tables and sit with the guys.

Hermione opened her mouth to say 'no', but Ginny jumped in with an emphatic, "Yes!"

Not sure quite how it happened, Hermione was suddenly sitting next to Draco while Blaise and Ginny sat across the table joking with each other. After a minute of awkward silence Draco and Hermione both started talking at the same time.

"How have‒"

"They are‒"

They looked at each other and laughed.

"You first," Draco prompted Hermione.

"I was going to say that they are having fun," Hermione remarked about Ginny and Blaise.

Draco leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, "He's always fancied the Weaselette. We go to the Holyhead Harpies Quidditch matches. He says he's just a fan of the team, but that only started once Ginny began playing for them."

"Really?" Hermione glanced across the table. "I think the feeling might be mutual."

They looked over to see Ginny touch Blaise's hand.

"Well, I won't be the one telling Ron about her interest in a Slytherin."

"What's so bad about Slytherins?" Draco asked, looking at his nails as if he words didn't affect him.

Hermione instinctively knew Draco did care, however. In the years since the Battle of Hogwarts, Draco had become an upstanding member of the wizarding world. He was a respected Healer at St. Mungo's. While Witch Weekly occasionally showed a picture of him with a woman, he was mostly there for being a sponsor at Ministry events and charity balls. He had matured and wasn't the arrogant Death Eater he'd been when they were in school.

As she considered her response, she felt emboldened by the flirting happening across the table. "Well, judging from you and Blaise, nothing I'd say. You Slytherins are quite an attractive lot."

Draco gaped at her.

Hermione blushed. "Ron would, of course, not agree."

He sniffed. "It's not like he's the prize of the century." His cheeks turned red. "Only an idiot would let someone like you go."

As their waitress returned with their drinks and took their food orders, Hermione watching Ginny and Blaise across the table. They already seemed to belong together.

Turning to Draco she said, "It looks as if we might be spending more time together in the future."

Draco picked up his bottle of Butterbeer and clinked it against Hermione's. "Granger, I'll drink to that."

They toasted each other, and took sips of their drinks. The heated gaze in Draco's eyes as he looked at her over his bottle made Hermione's stomach flip.

"Me, too."

Egads, indeed!


End file.
